1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates most generally to visual display devices used to communicate information between vehicles. More particularly, the present invention relates to devices which may be used to signal between oncoming operators of vehicles that are traveling in opposite directions on a common trail in order to convey the number of vehicles that are traveling in each of the operators' respective parties.
2. Description of Related Art
The figures illustrate the apparatus and method of the present invention used in conjunction with snowmobiles. However, the present invention can be used with all types of trail vehicles. Therefore, for the purposes of this specification and the claims, the term “trail vehicle” incorporates all transportation means on a recreational trail, including but not limited to snowmobiles, all-terrain multi-wheeled vehicles, cyclists, skaters, and skiers. Additionally, reasonable analogies can be extended from the descriptions associated with the term “snowmobile” to other types of trail vehicles.
The general use of recreational trails is currently popular and growing in all parts of the world, particularly so in the United States and Canada. A substantial percentage of these trails are groomed and marked snowmobile trails that have been developed and maintained by snowmobile clubs working with local government and private land owners. There are at least 200,000 miles of groomed and marked snowmobile trails in North America. Increased popularity of snowmobile riding has created increased traffic on some of these trails. The increase in traffic has caused an increased danger of collisions between oncoming snowmobiles passing in opposite directions, especially on narrow trails with winding turns that create a limited line of sight.
The state of the art in snowmobile trail riding includes a loosely followed method or convention for signaling group size information from the operator of a snowmobile traveling in a first direction on a designated, confined snowmobile trail to the operator or operators of one or more oncoming snowmobiles traveling in a second, opposite direction on the trail. According to the current convention practiced by some typically more experienced riders, riders traveling in the first direction and riders traveling in the second direction signal the number of snowmobiles traveling behind them within their group by raising that number of fingers on one hand. The last rider in the group signals his status as the last rider by raising a closed fist. This convention has significant limitations and shortcomings. Hand gestures are frequently confused with a greeting hand wave. Even in those trail areas where hand gestures are well understood, riders often forget to perform the hand signal, or the riders are wearing mittens that do not permit individual finger signals, or the riders are unable to remove one hand from their handle bars or steering system because they might lose a level of control over their trail vehicle.
The invention presented by Brady et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,886,627, SIGNALING APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR TRAIL VEHICLES, issued Mar. 23, 1999, provided an apparatus and method that overcame some of the limitations of hand signaling. This signaling method included the use of user-selectable colored lights mounted on the trail vehicle in order to convey information to oncoming traffic about whether there are trailing party members or whether it is the last member of the party, depending on the color of light selected by the operator. For example, a yellow/amber light warns oncoming riders that additional members of the group are trailing, and a green light indicates that the snowmobile is the last of its party. This signaling method has limitations. First, the information presented by the use of colored lights is useful information only to those riders who understand the meaning of the color convention used by the signaling rider. Second, the colored lights used by Brady et al. do not present any information about how many trailing vehicles are within that operator's party the oncoming operator should expect to meet.
The present invention provides a signaling apparatus and method which are believed to substantially overcome some of the shortcomings of the known art because it includes a lighted numeral that readily conveys to oncoming trail users how many trail vehicles to expect before the path is clear of traffic.